Bundle ties produced by the use of two part bundle tie material

ABSTRACT

Continuous strip material for bundle ties comprises two identical sections. The material is ladder-like in form and each section comprises a side piece and rung parts extending from the side pieces. The rung parts are coupled by a coupling system to form the rungs and the coupling system is disengageable to permit movement of the side pieces away from each other. Ratchet type latching ears are provided on the side pieces. In use, the side pieces are moved apart at the leading end of the strip of material to permit placement of an intermediate portion of the strip between the side pieces at the leading end. The side pieces are moved back together and the intermediate portion can be tightened onto the bundle in a ratchet-like manner.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to bundle ties and to continuous strip materialfor forming bundle ties on wire bundles or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A known type of bundle tie material, for forming bundle ties on wirebundles or the like, comprises a continuous strip having spaced-apartopenings therein and having ratchet type latching means, such aslatching extensions, on its surface. In use, the leading end of thestrip is threaded through one of the openings to form a loop and theleading end is then pulled to tighten the loop in the manner of aratchet mechanism onto the bundle. After the loop has been tightened,the material is cut at two locations; the scrap material extending fromthe bundle to the leading end of the material is cut and discarded andthe length of material extending to the reel or spool is cut also.Bundle tie material of this type is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,224,054, 3,438,095, and 4,045,843.

As noted above, the use of bundle tie material as shown in theabove-identified U.S. patent involves a substantial loss of material asscrap when a section of the material is installed on a bundle as abundle tie. This scrap loss is a serious consideration for the reasonthat the cost of material in a bundle tie represents a substantialportion of the overall manufacturing costs and the cost of the tie, asinstalled on the bundle, can be substantially reduced if the scrap lossis eliminated.

It is also difficult with ties of the type described above to thread theleading end of the bundle tie material through an opening in the stripof material which is remote from the leading end to form the loop whichis tightened onto the bundle. The difficulty of performing thisoperation increases as the size of the bundle tie material is reducedand the difficulty encountered approaches the difficulty required tothread a needle if the tie material is extremely narrow. Finally, thenature of the bundle tie material of this known type is such that it isimpractical to design automatic or semiautomatic tools for applying thematerial to bundles as bundle ties.

Bundle ties of the type shown in the above-identified U.S. patents aremanufactured by a molding, or sometimes an extrusion operation, coupledwith a stamping operation to form the holes in the material. The moldingor extrusion operations can be quite inexpensive to carry out. However,the addition of a stamping operation increases the manufacturing costconsiderably and the fact that material must be removed from theextruded or molded strip when the holes are stamped in the material alsoinvolves a material scrap loss which is undesirable for reasonsdiscussed above.

The present invention is directed to the achievement of an improvedbundle tie material which can be manufactured without scrap losses andwhich can also be applied as an individiual bundle without scrap loss bythe user. The invention is further directed to the achievement of animproved bundle tie material which provides redundancy in an appliedbundle tie on a bundle of wires or the like. The invention is alsodirected to the achievement of a bundle tie material which can bereadily applied by automatic or semiautomatic tools. Additionally, theinvention is directed to the achievement of improved bundle ties andimproved methods of installing bundle ties on wire bundles or the like.Finally, the invention is considered with a bundle tie material whichcan be produced as a plastic strip or, if required, as a metal strip.

THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a continuous length of bundle tie material whichis intended to be wrapped around a bundle of wires or the like, thebundle tie material having spaced-apart openings therein and a ratchetlatching means for latching the material to itself thereby to form aloop. The latching means permits ratchet style tightening of the looponto a bundle. The bundle tie material of the invention is characterizedin that the material has a ladder-like form comprising first and secondside pieces and rungs extending between the side pieces, the openingsbeing the spaces between the rungs. The material comprises first andsecond coextensive sections which are assembled to each other. The firstand second sections comprise the first and second side pieces and firstand second rung parts respectively. Each first rung part is coupled to asecond rung part by a rung coupling means which is at least partiallydisengageable with accompanying movement of the side pieces away fromeach other and enlargement of an adjacent opening between adjacentrungs. The ratchet latching means comprises spaced-apart latching earson each of the side pieces and portions of the side pieces themselveswhich receive the ears. The material can be applied to a bundle bymoving the first and second side pieces away from each other at onelocation, thereby enlarging the opening at the one location, thereafterpositioning a remote portion of the material in the enlarged opening toform a loop, and then moving the side pieces back towards each other.The loop thus formed can be tightened onto a bundle by pulling on thematerial.

The invention also encompasses the method of installing a bundle tie ona bundle as described above and a new form of bundle tie having aredundant feature in that each single bundle tie device is in realitytwo separate bands.

THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a short length of thematerial illustrating the manner in which the material is formed of twoseparate sections.

FIGS. 2-4 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which abundle tie is installed on a bundle.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a bundle tie installed on a bundle ofwires.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the bundle tie materialin detail and illustrating the manner in which it is composed of twoidentical sections.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of one of the sections of the bundle tiematerial.

FIGS. 8-10 are fragmentary views showing the manner in which anintermediate portion of the material is placed in an opening at theleading end of the material to form a loop so that the loop can betightened onto a bundle of wires.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a bundle tie formed from the material on abundle of wires.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a short length of bundle tie materialin accordance with an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a view showing the two sections separated from each other.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a further embodiment with the two sectionsseparated from each other.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view through bundle tie material as shownin FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 illustrates the manner in which the two sections of theembodiment of FIG. 14 can be coupled to each other to enlarge an openingin the material.

THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENT

The essential features of the invention will first be described withreference to FIGS. 1-5. These figures show bundle tie material 4 inaccordance with the invention in diagrammatic form so that theprinciples of the invention can be readily understood. The specificstructural features of a preferred embodiment are described below withreference to FIGS. 6-11.

The continuous bundle tie material 4 has a ladder-like form and iscomposed of first and separate identical sections 8, 8', each of whichcomprises a side piece 10, 10' and rung parts 11, 11'. The two sections8, 8' are assembled to each other and the rung parts 11, 11' are coupledto each other by a coupling means which permits them to be disengagedfrom each other. The rung parts form the rungs 14 of the material 4 andthe space between the rungs defines holes 15. Latching ears 16, 16' areprovided on the side pieces 10, 10'.

The material is manufactured by continuous processes such as stripmolding as will be described below and is supplied to the user in theform of a spool or reel 2 as shown in FIG. 2. When it is desired toplace an individual bundle tie on a bundle of wire 6, the leading end 18of the material 4 is passed around the bundle and the two sections 8, 8'are separated as shown in FIG. 3, thereby to open the hole 15 at theleading end 18. An intermediate portion 20 of the material is moved intothe opened hole as shown in FIG. 3 and the two sections are then movedback towards each other as shown in FIG. 4. As well be explained below,the rung parts 11 are designed such that they will be coupled to eachother even though the side pieces 10, 10' are separated in the vicinityof the leading end by a distance which is slightly greater than thenormal separation along the length of the material.

After the side pieces have been moved towards each other, theintermediate portion 20 can be pulled leftwardly as shown in FIG. 4 anda ratchetting effect will be achieved. When the loop is tightened ontothe bundle, the intermediate portion is cut immediately adjacent to theleading end 18 so that there is absolutely no scrap loss when the bundletie is formed on the wire bundle. The cut end of the installed tie isthus the trailing end of a discrete length of material 4.

The structural details of one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 6-11. The sections 8, 8' are identicaland the same reference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, are usedto denote the same structural features of the two sections. In thedescription which follows, only the first section 8 is described indetail and reference is made to the second section 8' where necessary.The first side piece 10 has a first internal surface 22 which is opposedto the first internal surface 22' of the side piece 10' and a firstoutwardly facing external surface 24. Intermediate surfaces 26 areformed between these internal and external surface on the upper andlower sides of the material as viewed in FIG. 6.

The first rung parts extend from the internal surface 22 and are shownat 12 and 13. The first rung parts 13 are cylindrical pins while thefirst rung parts 12 are projections on the internal surface which havecylindrical recesses or openings 28 for reception of a second rung part13' as shown by FIG. 6. The pins 13, 13' should fit in the openings 28,28' relatively snugly so that the two sections will remain assembled toeach other but can be separated when a bundle tie is being formed on awire bundle.

The side piece 10 has a spaced-apart latching portions 30 which arerelatively thinner, as measured between the surfaces 22, 24, thanadjacent portions 32 of the side piece. Spaced-apart recesses 34 arethus provided on the outwardly facing first external surface of the sidepiece for reception of the latching ears. The latching ears 16 havefixed ends 36 which are integral with the adjacent portions 32 andextend towards the leading end 18 of the material. The ears have ends 38which are adjacent to the next adjacent portion 32 of the side piece andthe ears extend over the adjacent recess 34. The ears 16 can be flexedinwardly and into the recesses during tightening of a loop of thematerial onto a bundle as described below.

The top and bottom intermediate surface portions 26 of the side piece 10have channels therein as shown at 40 for reception of a tool which canbe used to separate the two sections of the material when a bundle tieis being produced. The channels would, of course, receive portions ofthe tool but other contoured surface types could be provided if desiredfor cooperation with a suitable tool.

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate in detail the manner in which an individual bundletie is formed from a continuous length of the material. As also shown inFIGS. 2-4, the leading end 18 of the material is passed around a wirebundle and positioned adjacent to an intermediate portion 20 of thematerial. The two sections 8, 8' are then moved apart as shown in FIG. 9and the hole at the leading end is opened so that the intermediateportion 20 of the material can now be passed downwardly until it isbetween the two sections at the leading end. Thereafter, the twosections at the leading end are moved back towards each other as shownin FIG. 10 and the leading end hole is closed. Obviously, these twosections will be spaced apart at the leading end by a distance which isslightly greater than the spacing between the two sections at otherlocations along the length of the material. The telescoping effect ofthe rung parts permits this effect.

When the parts are in the positions of FIG. 10, the intermediate portion20 of the material can be pulled leftwardly to draw the bundle tiematerial tightly around the bundle of wires. As the individual first andsecond latching ears 16, 16' pass through the opening at the leadingend, the ears can flex inwardly for the reason that they extendcantilever fashion over the adjacent recesses 34. After an individualear has passed through the opening at the leading end of the material,it snaps back to its normal position and it cannot pass rightwardly fromthe position of FIG. 10 through the opening. In this manner, thelatching effect is achieved along with the ratchetting effect.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an alternative embodiment of bundle tie material 42in which the rung parts 44 are cylindrical and have enlarged ends 46 inwhich there is provided an open-sided recess 48 dimensioned to receivethe cylindrical portion 44. When the side sections are moved apart withthis embodiment, they are moved in opposite directions normally of theplane of the material as shown in FIG. 13 and then moved laterally awayfrom each other to the extent necessary to permit placement of theintermediate portion between the side pieces at the leading end. Acollar 50 may be provided to maintain the spacing between the twosections.

FIGS. 14-16 show a further embodiment 52 in which the rung parts 54, 56are plate-like projections on the internal opposed side surfaces of theside pieces. The parts 54 have openings therein which receivecylindrical pin-like projections on the part 56. Again, separation takesplace by moving the two sections in opposited directions normally oftheir own planes. As shown in FIG. 16, the hole at the leading end canbe enlarged by virtue of the fact that two pins and two openings areprovided in each of the projections 54, 56.

As an alternative to the installation procedure shown in FIGS. 1-5, itis possible to form a bundle tie from a continuous length of thematerial by simply separating the two sections at the intermediatelocation 20 and passing the leading end of the material through theseparated intermediate sections. This alternative has the disadvantageof resulting in some scrap loss when the ends are pulled and tightenedonto the bundle. The preferred assembly method is as shown in thedrawing.

Bundle ties in accordance with the invention will ordinarily be of aplastic material such as a polyester or polypropylene. However, thestructural features shown in the drawing can also be achieved bystamping and forming and there is a need for metallic bundle ties insome industries, particularly in the nuclear power industry. When thetie material is molded, it is advantageous to produce the two separatesections 8, 8' by a continuous rotary molding machine of the type shownin U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,148. The manufacturing cost with this type ofprocess is very low since it is merely necessary to provide a singlemolding wheel having two sets of cavities to produce the two sections.When the sections emerge from the molding wheel, they are simply guidedtowards each other as shown in FIG. 1 and assembled to each otherimmediately after being molded.

Bundle tie material in accordance with the invention can be made in awide variety of sizes. The principles of the invention have been usedwith success to provide bundle tie material having a width of about 0.2inches (5 mm) and having a pitch of about 0.15 inches (3 mm). It is, ofcourse, possible to produce bundle tie material having a much greaterwidth and longer pitch, for example having a width of one inch or moreif bundle ties are required for relatively heavy gauge wires.

As mentioned previously, an outstanding advantage of the invention isthat there is absolutely no scrap loss in the manufacture of thematerial (as is involved in puching openings in previously known bundletie material) or in forming a bundle tie on a bundle of wires. Thisfeature is extremely significant from an economic standpoint for thereason that the material cost represents a very substantial portion ofthe overall manufacturing cost of any bundle tie device. A furthersignificant advantage of the invention is that the operations ofseparating the side pieces and placing the intermediate portion 20 ofthe material between these separated side pieces can readily be carriedout by hand or by relatively simple tooling devices. In this respect,the invention has substantial advantages over bundle tie materials ofthe type in which stamped openings are provided in the strip. Thepassage of the leading end of the material through a stamped openingwhich has a width narrower than the width of the material itself is adifficult operation which is avoided in the practice of the invention.

The performance of bundle tie devices formed with the material of thepresent invention is, in at least one respect, superior to theperformance of previously known bundle tie devices for the reason thateach single bundle tie as shown for example in FIG. 5 is in effect, twoindividual bundle ties on the bundle of wires. The rungs 14 as shown inFIG. 5 are not load bearing portions of the applied bundle tie; that is,they are not stressed and all of the hoop stresses are carried by theside pieces 10, 10' and the latching means on these side pieces. It istherefore possible to cut every one of the rungs in a bundle tie on awire bundle without failure of the two side pieces which are now twoindependent bundle ties. This feature is clearly advantageous since thedestruction, accidental or otherwise, of any of the rungs and one of theside pieces does not result in failure of the bundle tie; a second sidepiece remains to form a continuous tie device in surroundingrelationship to the wire bundle. In other words, a bundle tie inaccordance with the invention has the advantage of redundancy.

I claim:
 1. A continuous length of bundle tie material which is intendedto be wrapped around a bundle or the like, the bundle tie materialhaving spaced-apart holes therein and a ratchet latching means forlatching the material to itself to form a loop and permitting ratchettightening of the loop onto a bundle, the bundle tie material beingcharacterized in that:the bundle tie material has a ladder-like formcomprising first and second side pieces and rungs extending between theside pieces, the holes being the spaces between the rungs, theladder-like form further comprising first and second coextensivesections which are assembled to each other, the first and secondsections comprising the first and second side pieces and first andsecond rung parts connected to the first and second side piecesrespectively, each first rung part being coupled to a second rung partby a rung coupling means, each rung coupling means being disengageablewith concomitant movement of the side pieces away from each otherthereby permitting passage to an adjacent hole, the ratchet latchingmeans comprising spaced-apart latching ears on each of the side pieceswhereby, the material can be applied to a bundle by moving the first andsecond side pieces away from each other at one location thereby openingthe hole at the one location, positioning a remote portion of the bundletie material, which is remote from the one location, in the opened holeto form a loop, moving the side pieces back towards each other therebyengaging the remote portion with the one location by the latching earsand tightening the loop onto a bundle by pulling on the material.
 2. Acontinuous length of bundle tie material as set forth in claim 1characterized in that the latching means further comprises spaced-apartlatching portions of the side pieces, the latching portions beingdimensioned for reception between a latching ear and the side piece fromwhich the latching ear extends.
 3. A continuous length of bundle tiematerial which is intended to be wrapped around a bundle or the like,the bundle tie material having spaced-apart holes therein and ratchetlatching means for latching the ends of a discrete length of thematerial and permitting the discrete length to be tightened in aratchetting manner onto a bundle, the bundle tie material beingcharacterized in that:the bundle tie material has a ladder-like formcomprising first and second coextensive side pieces and spaced-apartrungs extending between the side pieces, the side pieces having opposedinternal surface portions and outwardly facing external surfaceportions, the rungs extending between the internal surface portions, theholes being the spaces between the rungs, the ladder-like formcomprising first and second coextensive sections which are assembled toeach other, the first section comprising the first side piece and firstrung parts extending from the internal surface portions thereof, thesecond section comprising the second side piece and second rung partsextending from the internal surface portions thereof, each pair of firstand second rung parts having interengaged coupling means serving tocouple the rung parts to each other, each rung coupling means being atleast partially disengageable with accompanying movement of the sidepieces away from each other and thereby permitting passage to anadjacent hole, the ratchet latching means comprising latching ears onthe external surface portions of the first and second side pieceswhereby:the material can be applied to a bundle by moving the first andsecond side pieces away from each other at one location thereby openingthe hole at the one location, positioning a remote portion of thematerial, which is remote from the one location, in the opened holethereby forming a loop, moving the side pieces at the one location backtowards each other and closing the hole thereby engaging the remoteportion with the one location by the latching ears and then tighteningthe material onto the bundle or the like by pulling.
 4. A continuouslength of bundle tie material as set forth in claim 3 characterized inthat the latching means further comprises spaced-apart latching portionsof the side pieces, the latching portions being dimensioned forreception between a latching ear and the side piece from which thelatching ear extends.
 5. A continuous length of bundle tie material asset forth in claim 4 characterized in that the material has a leadingend, each of the latching ears having a fixed end which is integral withthe associated side piece from which the ear extends, each ear extendingfrom its fixed end towards the leading end of the material and beingspaced from the associated side piece by a distance sufficient toreceive another latching ear of the associated side piece.
 6. Acontinuous length of bundle tie material as set forth in claim 5characterized in that the latching portions of the side pieces have areduced thickness as compared with adjacent portions of the side pieceswhich are between the latching portions.
 7. A continuous length ofbundle tie material as set forth in claim 6 characterized in that thefixed end of each latching ear is integral with an adjacent portion ofits associated side piece and extends over a latching portion of itsassociated side piece.
 8. A continuous length of bundle tie material asset forth in claim 7 characterized in that the rungs are betweenadjacent latching portions along the length of the material.
 9. Acontinuous length of bundle tie material as set forth in either ofclaims 3 or 7 characterized in that the first and second coextensivesections are identical.
 10. A continuous length of bundle tie materialas set forth in either of claims 3 or 7 characterized in that each pairof first and second rung parts comprises a pin part and a receptaclepart, the pin part being telescopically received in the receptacle part.11. A continuous length of bundle tie material as set forth in either ofclaims 3 or 7 characterized in that the first and second rung partsoverlap and are slidably engaged with each other.
 12. A continuouslength of bundle tie material as set forth in either of claims 3 or 7characterized in that each of the coextensive sections is a continuouslymolded strip of plastic.
 13. A continuous length of bundle tie materialas set forth in either of claims 3 or 7 characterized in that each ofthe side pieces has transition surface portions which extend between theinternal surface portions and the external surface portions, thetransition surface portions being contoured to receive tooling forspreading the side pieces apart and moving the side pieces backtogether.
 14. A bundle tie installed on a bundle of wires or the like,the bundle tie comprising a discrete length of bundle tie materialhaving a leading end and a trailing end, the discrete length beinglooped around the bundle and the leading end being connected to thetrailing end, the bundle tie being characterized in that:the discretelength has ladder-like form comprising first and second side pieces andrungs extending between the side pieces, the spaces between the rungsbeing spaced apart holes, the discrete length comprising first andsecond co-extensive sections which are assembled to each other, thefirst and second sections comprising the first and second side piecesand first and second rung parts connected to the first and second sidepieces respectively, each first rung part being coupled to a second rungpart by a disengageable rung coupling means, the trailing end extendingthrough the one hole which is nearest to the leading end, the first andsecond side pieces each having first and second two part integrallatching means thereon at the leading end and at the trailing end of thediscrete length for connecting the leading end to the trailing end, theside pieces each being individually connected to each other by thelatching means on the first and second side pieces.